Optometric Assistant/Technician Training Programs

Program Description: The Optometric Technician Program at Madison Area Technical College is a technical diploma course that has been providing quality training for over 30 years. There are two ways to achieve your technical diploma.

Online Program: Persons already employed in eye care may enroll in the program delivered via the Internet. The online program is only offered via a part-time schedule (course work is taken over 4 semesters) and new students are admitted each August and January.

Classroom Program: The classroom program can be completed in nine months of full-time study. New students are admitted into the classroom-based program every August.
For additional information regarding program options go to the school’s website provided above. In “Programs of Study” you will find the Optometric Technician program. Open the “Optometric Technician information page” for program details.

Program Description: Vision Care Technology at Spokane Community College was the first and is still the only vision program in eastern Washington State. It is the only program in the western United States where all sectors of the optometry industry come to recruit new staff because of its national reputation for developing top professionals.

The vision industry within the Inland Northwest grew dramatically in the last 20 years because of the pool of professionals trained in the SCC Vision Care Technology program. Now, new testing methods, faster eyeglass manufacturing, higher requirements for quality, larger product lines, and more regulations mean increased technology and better training is needed to "see" more patients get better eye care.

Program Description: Initiated in 2003, this certification preparation course is offered through the Florida Community College of Jacksonville. The course includes a total of 176 hours of instruction two evenings per week plus one Saturday per month from July to December. Multimedia classrooms and fully equipped exam lanes are made available at The Vision Care Institute on the campus of Vistakon.

Students will make site visits and take tours of local optometry offices, Marco Ophthalmics, SafeLite optical lab, and Vistakon. Hands on practicals as well as written examinations are used to test skills learned. Graduate will be eligible to take the CPOA examination. Contact Diana Gibson at (904) 262-2249 or email diana@youreyesolution.com for more information or visit www.fccj.edu.

Program Description: Indiana University is located in the beautiful rolling, wooded hills of southern Indiana. The campus is consistently listed as one of the most beautiful campuses in the country. The IU School of Optometry offers a two-year program providing education for students to earn an Associate of Science degree (A.S.) in Optometric Technology/Opticianry. The course work and clinic practicum experience prepares a student with the education to complement the work of eye doctors. A variety of clinical experiences are offered by working alongside doctor of optometry students at the Bloomington clinics: Atwater Eye Care Center, the Community Eye Care Center, and the Contact Lens Clinic. Indiana University also has clinics in Indianapolis and Guanajuato, Mexico.

Students learn how to work alongside optometrists performing certain eye tests, helping people select eyewear and assisting in contact lens care. With a complete on-site optical laboratory, students also have a unique opportunity to learn how to fabricate and fill spectacle lens prescriptions.

Because it is positioned within the IU School of Optometry, the program offers many unique and valuable benefits to students pursuing a career in the paraoptometric field.

Optometric Assistant Program
5540 Lakewood Ranch Blvd.
Bradenton FL 34211

Optometric Assistance Program
301 Largo Road
Largo MD 20774-2199

300-P3 Eye Specialty Course
Academy of Health Sciences
Fort Sam Houston TX 78234-6138